


elapsed

by Cow_Flop



Category: cowchop
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Use, F/M, M/M, NovaHD - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-01 04:36:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10914468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cow_Flop/pseuds/Cow_Flop
Summary: Sequel to stay“I will stay forever here with you, my love…. Even in death our love goes on.”Aleks finds himself alone, no longer engaged and no longer in contact with James. His loneliness starts to get the better of him. Soon after, he turns to drugs and alcohol to help cope.With nothing left to lose but a shitty, going nowhere music career, Aleks seeks out Kammi and James in hopes of reconciling.Will he get another chance, or will his addictions kill him first?





	1. prologue

 

Kammi gazed fondly at her two new bundles of joy. The twins slept peacefully in her arms. She smiled at their tiny faces. An almost overwhelming sense of affection washed over her. Tears formed in her eyes and she began to silently cry from happiness. A nurse walking by noticed but Kammi politely denied her offer for help. The woman didn’t press any farther and left her to be in peace. Not long after her departure, someone knock on the open door.

“Hey. Mind if I come in?”

At first, Kammi didn’t recognize the voice. She looked to the door. A huge grin formed on her face.

“James! Of course! Come on in!” She beamed.

James smiled shyly and stepped into the slightly chilly space. A blond man followed in behind him. Kammi’s eyes locked with the strangers.

“This is my buddy Seamus.”

“Seamus.” Kammi repeated.  Their eyes met again, holding the gaze a little longer than necessary. She smiled warmly. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Seamus.”

“Yeah, same to you.” Seamus said, feeling flustered. James glanced between them amused.

“Uh huh.. Well, how are you feeling? Stressed out yet?” He joked.

“Not yet.” Kammi chuckled. “They’ve been sleeping most of the day, so it’s been fairly easy.” She placed a kiss on both of their heads. “You wanna hold them James?”

James held up his hands and shook his head. “No thanks. I’m afraid I’d drop one.”

She looked at Seamus. “Seamus, would you like to hold them?”

“Uh, s-sure.” He stuttered. Seamus walked over to her beside and did as she instructed. They were carefully placed in his arms then he sat on the chair beside the bed. A look of pure terror was evident on his face as the little girl stirred. James snickered. Seamus stared daggers at him. Kammi watched him with intrigue.

“So what are their names?” James asked.

Kammi snapped out of her daydream and focused on James.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“What are their names?” He asked again.

“Oh. The girl is Scarlett Rose Marchant. The boy is Sterling River Marchant.”

A weird ambience fell over the room. James scratched the back of his neck, Kammi stared at her blanket, and Seamus hyper focused on Scarlett.

“Have you uh, told him yet?” James treaded lightly, not wanting to potentially upset her. Kammi shook her head then sighed.

“No, and I don’t plan on it. He hasn’t tried to contact me at all over the last eight months.” She fiddled with the corner of her blanket.

“Well maybe that’s because he thinks you want space.” Seamus interjected.

“Seamus–” James tried to scold him but Kammi waved it off.

“No James. Seamus has a point. I just hoped he’d have at least tried, you know?”

Kammi felt a pang in her chest. More tears welled in her eyes, but for a different reason this time. James shoulders fell. He walked over to her and hugged her tightly as she cried. Seamus looked at him as if he should say something, but was at a loss for words. All he could say was “I’m sorry.”

* * *

"Well Aleks,” his manager spoke, “everything seems to be in order! I just need you to sign one last form then all your dreams will come true!” The man slid the last page of his contract across the table. Aleks shakily grabbed the pen and signed with no hesitation. A weight lifted from his shoulders and he smiled–genuinely smiled–for the first time in months. Things finally seemed like they were picking up for him


	2. i. happy birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _***brief mention of implied drug use*** _

**_3 years later_ **

“Another wasted fucking birthday.”

Aleks sighed, the effects of his high wearing off. He stared at the empty syringe, contemplating if he should shoot up once again, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, he sat up, reached for his phone, and pulled up Instagram. Hundreds of notifications from hundreds of strangers wished him a happy birthday. Aleks went through some of the pictures he’d been tagged and liked a few, inevitably making those fans’ day.

He did this for close to thirty minutes before tiring of it. He yawned loudly and rubbed an eye. 12:02 AM is what his phone read. A burst of unexplained sadness filled his body. Another depression spell? Maybe.   
Aleks tapped on the magnifying glass. His thumbs did a little dance before typing. He knew looking her up would only further his sour mood, but it’d been a long while since he last “checked on” Kammi.  Her account popped up and Aleks tapped on it, pleasantly surprised to see it was still public.

She was still quite active on the site. James also made frequent appearances on her posts. His hair was now past his shoulders while Kammi’s was at the base of her neck and also a darker shade of orange. Aleks felt a twinge in his chest. They looked happy–very happy. He backed out of the picture, only to spot a newer one of the two together. He looked at it confused.

“What the fuck?” Aleks said, pulling up the photo. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Two children, no more than four, were present and looked an awful lot like him.

“ _Happy 3rd birthday to my little babies! They’re growing so fast_ :(!!”, the caption read.

Aleks stared at the screen wide eyed. Thoughts flooded his mind. He had so many questions but had no one to ask. Usually he felt his heart slow thanks to the heroin, but in this sober moment it raced. _He had kids_ , blissfully unaware of it for three years. Kammi never told him. His children were growing up without a father. Aleks felt sick. He closed the app and called his manager.

_“Aleks? It’s late. Everything okay?”_

“Not really. Can you cancel whatever I have going on Thursday through Monday?”

_“Uh yeah sure. They won’t be happy but I can sort it out. You wanna tell me what’s wrong?”_

“I have to fly to Colorado and see my kids.”

* * *

Kammi smiled as she posted the photo.

“Thanks for helping today James. I really appreciate it.”

James smiled.

“Hey you’re welcome. It’s the least I could do.”

He sighed as he plopped down on the couch beside her. Kammi locked her phone then snuggled up to James, wrapping her arms around his waist. James chuckled. He brought an arm down and stroked her hair.

“Something on your mind?” He asked.

“Aleks. Like always.” Kammi squeezed him tighter. “He still doesn’t know and I feel wrong for not telling them about their dad.”

“Do they ask?”

Kammi shook her head.

“So wait til they do.”

“But I feel like a terrible mom!”

Kammi buried her face into James’ side. James pressed his hand flat against her head then used his fingers to massage her scalp.

“A terrible mom doesn’t throw the fuckin’ awesome birthday part that she did. You’re too hard on yourself Kam. You’re doing fine with them. Don’t worry about Aleks. There’s plenty of time for that. Who knows what’s he’s doing nowadays anyway? He could be a fuckin’ bum or druggie. You really want Scarlett and Sterling knowing that?”

Kammi sniffled. She pulled away and looked at James with a sad but thankful smile. He held his arms out, inviting her for a hug.

“What would I do without you, _Jamesie_?” She teased.

“Don’t call me that ever again.” James laughed.

Kammi eventually fell asleep in James’ arms, with him not falling far behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> __**Yep. Heroin.**  
>  I had to look up some information on it bc all my knowledge about it is based around Kurt Cobain so I know a little more about it than I do meth, crack, or pot since I’m a big fan of Nirvana and Kurt.   
> I’m not in any way, shape, or form trying to promote or romanticize any kind of drug use and if it’s coming across like that, I sincerely apologize as that is not and was not my intention.   
> Please keep in mind that drug use, mainly heroin, will be a frequent thing in this story, so if you’re uncomfortable with that, please don’t read any further.   
> Also for a ref for how long James’ hair is in the made up picture, look up pics of Chris Cornell around the time Temple of the Dog was a thing. 


End file.
